About the Ag Economy Barometer

By Jim Mintert, David Widmar, Michael Langemeier The Purdue/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer settled lower in October. Based on a survey of 400 agricultural producers across the U.S., the monthly measure of U.S. agricultural producers’ sentiment was measured at 92, the lowest reading since March 2016 and the second-lowest Ag Economy Barometer value since data collection began in October 2015 (Figure 1).     The decline in producer sentiment recorded during October was primarily driven by an erosion in producers’ perspective regarding the long-run health of the U.S. agricultural economy. The forward-looking component of the Ag Economy Barometer, the Index…

By Jim Mintert, David Widmar, Michael Langemeier The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer indicated that farmer sentiment improved modestly during September as fall harvest got under way across most of the U.S. Based on a monthly survey of 400 agricultural producers, the Ag Economy Barometer was at 101 in September (Figure 1). While this was moderately above the August value of 95, the barometer’s current reading remains well below its peak of 112 in July.   The Ag Economy Barometer’s two sub-indices, the Index of Current Conditions and Index of Future Expectations, provide a more detailed view of what…

James Mintert, David Widmar, and Michael Langemeier After several months of improvement in sentiment toward the ag economy, declining commodity prices weighed heavily on farmer sentiment during August. The Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer–based upon a monthly survey of 400 farmers across the U.S.–fell to 95 in August, down from 112 in July. The 17-point drop from July to August was the largest one-month decline in the Ag Economy Barometer since November 2015.   Farmer sentiment regarding both the current state of the ag economy (measured by the Index of Current Conditions) and future prospects (measured by the Index…